12G 
WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
I have found great difficulty to keep the milk in the hottest 
weather of summer as low as 65^^. If warmer than that, loss will 
ensue by souring before the cream all rises. A cellar nino 
feet deep is the best place I have found; it is ventilated so I can 
shut out the heat in the heat of the day, and open at night to let 
in cool air. The objection to a cellar for a milk room is its damp¬ 
ness; this dampness is no doubt caused by its being cooler than the 
atmosphere outside. It is evident the moisture of the atmosphere 
tends to the coolest place. We notice the collection of moisture 
on the outside of the pitcher when filled with cold water, or on the 
metal pump iri a hot day when in use. If the cellar has any open¬ 
ings for ventilation, no doubt dampness will be absorbed from the 
outside, and as the bottom of the cellar is the coldest, it is also the 
dampest; hence, to avoid dampness, the milk should not be placed 
nearer than three feet from the bottom of the cellar. To avoid 
dampness and mould it may be well to notice this principle in keep¬ 
ing other articles also. 
The milk room for winter should be kept at the required temper¬ 
ature of 60°. My milk room for winter is in the northwest corner 
of my house, which is of heavy stone — one window on the north 
with double glass, or an outer and inner window; it is kept at the 
required temperature of 60°, or nearly so, by a large heating stovo 
in the adjoining room. This stove properly filled at night and its 
dampers well regulated, gives very nearly the required temperature. 
The pans which contain the milk rest upon slats, which allow 
the milk to cool sooner than when resting upon shelves of solid 
board. It is very important that the animal heat should be evapo¬ 
rated as soon as possible, and the more surface of the pan exposed 
to the influence of the atmosphere, the sooner this cooling will take 
place. When this temperature has been maintained, the milk 
should be skimmed in from thirty-six to forty-eight hours — should 
white specks appear, skim at once. From some peculiarity of the 
atmosphere, cream rises sooner at one time than another. When 
there is not sufficient cream for churning from one skimming, it 
may be kept at the temperature named for two or three days, pro¬ 
vided that it is stirred well together when a skimming is added. 
The churn should be thoroughly scalded before the cream is put in, 
and it is well to give a slow motion at first, gradually increasing, 
until the cream thickens and the butter appears in visible lumps. 
